Home | Newsletters & Shorts | DW Weekly #218 – DiploAI at the IGF 2025 in Norway, bridging the digital divide, AI, data governance, digital justice, and more!
DW Weekly #218 – DiploAI at the IGF 2025 in Norway, bridging the digital divide, AI, data governance, digital justice, and more!
Armed with cutting-edge AI-driven transcription, our team captured every session, from the opening keynote to the final workshop, delivering real-time news, detailed reports, and daily newsletters that you can find on our dig.watch platform. With Dr Jovan Kurbalija and Sorina Teleanu leading the charge, Diplo documented and actively shaped the dialogue, advocating for inclusive, innovative governance alongside global leaders, policymakers, and tech visionaries.
Efforts to tackle internet fragmentation definitely caught the attention of the audience on the last day of IGF 2025, addressing its technical, governance, and user experience dimensions. The session focused on implementing Article 29C of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) to prevent fragmentation, with stakeholders advocating for measurable frameworks and sustained dialogue via national and regional IGFs. Key concerns included the tension between seamless infrastructure and fractured user realities, raised by Gbenga Sesan. Marilia Maciel highlighted the need for economic research to understand fragmentation’s real-world impact, noting that billions face access and content restrictions, underscoring the issue as both a technical and human challenge requiring collaborative action.
Ask our personalised IGF 2025 chatbot for more information on which were the most important topics discussed at the forum!
Other highlights of the week:
A groundbreaking quantum leap has taken place in space exploration. The world’s first photonic quantum computer has successfully entered orbit aboard SpaceX’s Transporter 14 mission.
Bitcoin holds strong above $100,000. Technical signals on Bitcoin and Ethereum point to cautious optimism with key resistance levels ahead.
The digital sector is urging the EU leaders to delay the AI act, citing missing guidance and legal uncertainty.
Meta Platforms’ messaging service WhatsApp has been banned from all devices used by the US House of Representatives, according to an internal memo distributed to staff on Monday.
A coalition of cybersecurity agencies, including the NSA, FBI, and CISA, has issued joint guidance to help organisations protect AI systems from emerging data security threats.
As we convene in Oslo for the Internet Governance Forum, we reflect on the philosophical insights from Jostein Gaarder’s ‘Sophie’s World.’ The novel’s exploration of identity and constructed reality parallels the challenges of AI governance today. Just as Sophie learns her existence is scripted, AI systems are shaped by data and algorithms, raising questions about consciousness and accountability. The complexities of AI, such as the ‘black box’ problem, highlight the need for transparency and understanding. Ultimately, governance should prioritise values and meaning, urging us to engage with fundamental questions about identity and existence in our digital age. Read the full blog!
The ongoing 59th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), which opened on 16 June and will last until 11 July 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, presided over by Ambassador Jürg Lauber of Switzerland, addressed critical issues including civil society space, climate change, sexual orientation and gender identity, and violence against women, while spotlighting grave human rights situations in countries like Afghanistan, China, and Sudan.
The session also featured interactive dialogues on systemic racism, the rights of Indigenous peoples, and climate change, with the Special Rapporteur Elisa Morgera presenting a report on defossilizing economies (A/HRC/59/42), though debates revealed tensions between economic priorities and human rights obligations. Despite robust discussions, scepticism persists about the practical impact of these deliberations amid geopolitical divides and funding challenges for the UN rights system.
ITU Council 2025, which opened on 17 June and is closing today, 27 June, in Geneva, Switzerland, delivered key highlights and outcomes that are shaping the future of global telecommunications.
The session focused on critical governance and operational matters, including the review and adoption of the 2026–2027 biennial budget, oversight of ITU programs, and strategic planning for the 2028–2031 cycle, ensuring alignment with evolving telecom landscapes.
Additionally, an AI Workshop for Councillors on 16 June explored opportunities in diplomacy and governance, while side events like the WSIS information session and AI for Good initiative underscored ITU’s commitment to digital transformation and sustainable development goals.
For the main updates, reflections and events, consult the RADAR, the READING CORNER and the UPCOMING EVENTS section below.
Highlights from the week of 20 – 27 June 2025
Internet Governance Forum returns to Europe for its 20th anniversary.
With democracy under siege from AI-fueled disinformation and opaque algorithms, global leaders at IGF 2025 grappled with the urgent question: who really controls the truth in our digital age?
As global civil society leaders converge to reshape the digital rights landscape, their bold proposals signal a pivotal moment in the future of internet governance.
IGF panel warns that regulation without enforcement won’t protect children from digital exploitation.
At IGF 2025 in Norway, stakeholders mapped priorities ahead of the WSIS+20 high-level event in Geneva.
As digital power dynamics shift and global tensions rise, a reunion of internet governance pioneers reignites debate over who really shapes the rules of our online future.
Amid rapid digital change and rising AI hype, a familiar voice returns to challenge the buzzwords and bring clarity to the evolving debate.
AI is no longer confined to tech labs—it’s becoming a global concern that demands cooperation, creativity, and a shared commitment to humanity’s future.
AI governance must be inclusive, context-aware, and rooted in human rights, IGF 2025 panellists agree.
As AI continues to reshape industries and redefine the workplace, world leaders and innovators face a pressing question: Can we ensure its benefits are shared fairly before the gap between…
Can imagining the internet of 2040 help us fix the broken governance models of today?
With Africa’s digital ambitions at a crossroads, leaders at the IGF 2025 urged a decisive shift from promises to practical solutions that can bridge the continent’s growing connectivity and policy…
What happens when global internet policy experts suddenly abandon English and try to govern in dozens of different native languages?
As AI rapidly transforms journalism, a diverse group of global experts and grassroots voices came together in Norway to rethink how media can harness these tools without compromising ethics, inclusion,…
As we convene in Oslo for the Internet Governance Forum, we reflect on the philosophical insights from Jostein Gaarder’s “Sophie’s World.” The novel’s exploration of identity and constructed reality parallels the challenges of AI governance today.
India has championed International Yoga Day as a celebration of its ancient tradition. But is this a genuine cultural revival, a soft-power strategy, or a political rebranding? From Vivekananda to Modi, Aldo Matteucci unpacks the reinvention of yoga.
AI governance must be inclusive, context-aware, and rooted in human rights, IGF 2025 panellists agree.
On 20 June 2025, an Elements Paper was published as part of the WSIS+20 review process, outlining thematic priorities to guide negotiations ahead of the WSIS+20 High-Level Meeting in December…
How does Vietnam thrive by befriending global rivals? The answer lies in “bamboo diplomacy.” Uncover the delicate art of Vietnam’s foreign policy, which allows it to bend with geopolitical pressures without breaking its principles.
As yoga enters the digital frontier, we must confront the paradox: can a practice rooted in presence survive an era defined by simulation?
30 June 2025
E-Commerce at the WTO: Key Insights for LDCs and SIDS As the global economy becomes increasingly digitalised, there is growing recognition of the need…
30 Jun 2025 – 4 Jul 2025
Participants will address connectivity, cybersecurity, and global digital processes through workshops, policy dialogues, and side events, ensuring Pacific perspectives shape internet governance at regional and international levels.
1 Jul 2025 – 2 Jul 2025
The conference is designed to advance global digital trust by promoting interoperable infrastructure for digital identity, credentials, and wallets.
02 July 2025
Tech attache briefing: AI, WSIS, and IGF in Focus The event is part of a series of regular briefings the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) is delivering for…
3 Jul 2025 – 4 Jul 2025
The working group aims to engage in a comprehensive and inclusive multistakeholder dialogue on data governance regarding development.
3 Jul 2025, 12:30h – 13:30h
The webinar offers international actors a timely briefing on the evolving landscape of global digital and AI governance.
6 Jul 2025 – 7 Jul 2025
The BRICS partnership, built on political-security, economic-financial, and people-to-people cooperation, will also use the annual summit to address issues such as the environment, energy, science and technology, health, and broader…
